My Players Are So Fierce

Chapter 2:

Although they had been in this other world for a month, the fact that Murphy’s cheat system still hadn’t fully decompressed was a bit embarrassing. However, Murphy felt quite good about himself.

He felt that this might be some kind of damned “test”!

For example, allowing him to adapt to the feeling of being an “otherworlder” for a month before obtaining the cheat abilities to change his fate, so he wouldn’t rapidly reveal his true nature and become a “superhero” like Avengers after suddenly gaining transcendent powers.

Of course, perhaps all of the above were just his own delusions, or perhaps the real reason was simply that he was too weak.

“I’m back.”

Murphy carried the food into the main house, and as soon as he opened the door, he was hit by an overwhelming smell of alcohol.

Following the smell, he could see a long-haired drunkard curled up on a dilapidated sofa, with various empty bottles strewn around her feet, still clutching a half-empty bottle in her hand.

The tarnished mechanical clock on the wall ticked away with a crackling sound, and a few crimson ladies’ robes were draped over the broken balcony. Aside from the annoying speckles of mischievous sunlight, a soft, rhythmic snoring echoed through this ancient house.

The clean blanket on the sofa had been depressed into a human shape, and a long-haired, drunken lady lay on it in a very unbecoming posture, snoring loudly, occasionally scratching her slender waist with her finger.

If you added a bubble of snot, this place would look more like the boudoir of a century-old witch.

Murphy was used to this.

He first tidied up the room, sending today’s empty bottles down to the basement. Then he rolled up his sleeves, went into the kitchen for a busy period, and eventually brought out a bowl of bread porridge with meatballs and duck blood.

In theory, vampires didn’t need to eat anything but blood to survive, and might even live better that way. But given Murphy and Lady Tris’ household conditions, not to mention keeping a dedicated blood servant for their master to draw blood from periodically, they could barely get a taste of fresh blood on special occasions.

See those plump, free-roaming rats in the yard?

Those were the “blood packs” that Lady Tris had prepared for herself before living together with Murphy!

During this month, she had recommended this “energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and self-sufficient” lifestyle to Murphy several times, but he had politely declined each time.

He didn’t mind being an exotic eater in this magical other world, but high-end ingredients like rats were a bit much.

To be honest, before meeting Lady Tris, Murphy could never have imagined that a distinguished Midnight Aristocrat could fall to such straits in a city ruled by vampires.

“Wake up, Tris, time to eat.”

He placed the bowl, which was old enough to have been his grandfather’s, on a table at least six times his age, and bent down to help his elder up from the sofa.

“Elder” referred to the vampire who had initially turned a human.

In their culture, this word was similar in meaning to “parent,” and strict, ancient, sacred rules governed the initial turning process for both the Blood Vulture Clan and other clans. It was not merely the means of vampire reproduction, so “elder” held a rather formal significance in vampire culture.

Unfortunately, Murphy’s elder was quite unusual, causing the newly-arrived Murphy to develop a severe misconception about the entire vampire species.

These creatures who lurked by night must have become so unreliable due to chronic lack of sleep and biological clock disorder!

“Ah, little Murphy, let me sleep a bit more.”

Tris in his arms mumbled sleepily, nuzzling against Murphy’s broad chest like a cat before trying to go back to sleep, leaving Murphy feeling helpless.

“Mmm, let me tell you, I dreamed about when I was young. I dreamed that I was still a genius elder of the Blood Vulture Clan, with Salrokdar himself pouring me drinks, and the handsome Lord Payne inviting me to an evening banquet.

That damned old Edward avoided me…”

To be honest, this drunken vampire lady’s appearance was quite stunning, possessing a mature, sultry charm mixed with the bewitching allure characteristic of the Midnight Aristocrat.

Her long, cascading black hair was smooth as a waterfall, with a slender waist and smoldering eyes that would make her the focus of any man’s attention wherever she went.

However, a terrible scar, like a horrifying centipede, extended from her slender neck into her chest, oozing out from her slim, pinchable waist at her hips before stopping, nearly impaling her body like an unfortunate crack in exquisite porcelain.

Not only did it severely mar her beauty, but it also impaired the powers a vampire relied on to survive.

Other vampires called her a “waste” not as an insult, but because Tris had indeed lost most of her abilities. She had never told Murphy the origin of her scars, and he had never asked.

After all, when two people lived together, some boundaries were necessary.

“Wow, the taste is as great as ever! It seems making you my progeny was the most correct decision I’ve made in my last hundred wasted years.”

The tipsy Tris took a sip of the porridge and immediately showed a satisfied expression.

After a drunken sigh about how right she had been, she was about to dig in when she noticed the luxurious velvet pouch on the table that seemed out of place in these “humble” surroundings.

Especially the Blood Vulture insignia pinned to the pouch, which immediately made Tris narrow her eyes.

“What’s this?”

She glared at Murphy, rapping her spoon angrily as she demanded:

“Didn’t I tell you not to associate with those other Blood Vultures? They’re all a bunch of shameless bastards! Did you forget how their damned summoning spell nearly killed you and me? You disobedient child, do you want to vex me to death?”

“I didn’t want to either.”

While Murphy went to the balcony to take down and fold the dried clothes, he explained what had happened to Tris:

“I cannot disobey the patriarch’s orders. Even if ordered to go to my death, I would have to do so with a smile, right?”

“But this isn’t as simple as going to your death.”

The fuming Tris quickly downed the rest of her porridge in an unladylike manner, took the pouch, opened it, and took out a slender scroll with an enchanted encryption device, as well as a seal used for decoding.

She played with the two objects, saying:

“Who would include a decoding seal when sending coded orders? Little Murphy, Salrokdar is using you as bait.”

“Huh? So this message is fake?”

Murphy wasn’t surprised by this, and in response to his question, Tris shook her head, saying:

“No, the message is real! But it’s definitely encoded. If you can deliver it to the Midnight Hunters, they can translate the true message. If you die at the hands of the Witch Hunters, the surface message of these coded orders would be enough to lure them into the Blood Vulture Clan’s trap.

Simultaneously pursuing two coexisting possibilities and benefits, classic Salrokdar style.

The only sacrifice is you, my poor, lovely progeny.”

Tris paused here.

She glanced at Murphy, who had his back to her, rolled her eyes, and then said in a drawn-out voice:

“However, since you’ve accepted the mission, it’s too late to back out now. As your renowned waste of an elder, I don’t have much to give you. But in recognition of your year of service to me, there’s a hidden compartment beside the third pillar in the basement where I kept some of my old things.

You should be able to make use of them.

I need to sleep this off, my head is pounding. Alas, to think that I, a renowned elder, have been so devastated by alcoholism. This is unacceptable! So starting now, I’ll quit drinking!

Ugh.

Never mind, I’ll drink for one more day.

Tomorrow, I’ll definitely quit!

Yes, that’s a happy decision. Little Murphy, give me money! I need to buy alcohol!”

“…Just sleep for now, I’ll buy some for you when I go out for a stroll tonight.”

“Wow, little Murphy, you’re so sweet! Come give me a hug… wait! You’re leaving tonight? To buy alcohol? You little liar! Don’t run away! I’ll beat you up!”

The basement of the Tris manor was quite large, still bearing the marks of the spiritual power explosion that had occurred a month ago, with rubble strewn everywhere and shadows on the floor that seemed impossible to wipe away, giving Murphy a chill down his spine as he entered the darkness.

After all, the true owner of this body had died here.

This was an ominous place.

“If we had really switched bodies, you should be sitting in an air-conditioned office exploiting corporate slaves, while I suffer here in your place, even having to support that monster lady.”

Murphy clasped his hands and said softly:

“Since you couldn’t stand being ordinary and have inherited the position I worked ten years for in that resource-abundant world, living without want for food or clothing your whole life should satisfy you. Don’t become a ghost tormenting me in this place with real supernatural powers, or I won’t be polite! You’re a dead ghost, and I’m a vampire.

Since we’re both ghosts, who’s afraid of who?”

After performing this rigmarole “ritual”, Murphy found the hidden compartment under the third pillar as Tris had instructed and took out a bundle of items.

A set of exquisite dark red body armor including boots and gloves, a crimson cape embroidered with patterns, and a cool, dexterous cage sword. All were the refined creations of a vampire elder, probably Tris’ last memento to reminisce about her long-gone glory days.

So she really took out the coffin goods this time?

“The spiritual power loss is quite serious, it must have been a few hundred years since these were maintained?”

Murphy grabbed the dexterous sword and stylishly performed a sword flourish. His remaining muscle memory contained remnants of the Blood Vulture sword techniques, but unfortunately these original spirit items had now degraded into mere common iron.

At least they were still sharp enough.

He donned the body armor, fastened the cape’s clasp, put on the accompanying black vampire mask, and pulled up the hood of the armor.

A mysterious vampire figure immediately took shape.

Though there was no mirror, it goes without saying he looked dashing and heroic.

After all, after crossing over, this handsome face that could effortlessly devour hot meals without lifting a finger was the only thing Murphy could take pride in now.

??Reality Realm?Test Version Admin System Decompression Progress: 100%! System Installation Starting, Please Wait!

Character Card Module Installing…Testing Permissions, Releasing Alpha Database, Binding Information Resonance & Spirit Projection Module Activated…Authorization Complete, Personalized Extension Mode Embedded, Newbie Guide Module Activated…

The Test Time Has Come!?

The moment Murphy finished donning his equipment, the semi-transparent character card in front of him abruptly burst into dazzling rays of light, engulfing Murphy’s entire vision.

For a moment, he felt like he had been thrown into a mysterious sea of stars, surrounded by twinkling starlight in every direction. The originally simple, almost hopelessly plain character card was also constantly being loaded with new modules, quickly becoming extremely complex.

In this situation, it was difficult to accurately discern the passage of time, but the feeling wasn’t unpleasant, it was like waiting for a newly downloaded program to start up in front of the computer, filled with anticipation.

As the background starlight faded, a brand new interface appeared before Murphy:

Name: Revnor Murphy Lessenbra

Race: Vampire ?Blood Vulture Clan · Descendant of Desire?

Template: Dark Spirit Alignment · Ordinary Individual

Profession: Blood Vulture Apprentice / None / None

Talents: Dark Spirit Perception & Manipulation ?Novice?, Stealth · Shadow Walking ?Proficient?, Close Combat · Physical Attack Specialization ?Novice?

Specialties: Otherworld Creature Summoning ?0/2?

Skills: Blood Vulture Sword Arts ?Novice? / Spirit Blast ?Novice?

Equipment: Blood Vulture Elder Armor ?6/6?, Blade of the Desire Clan ?Spirit Power Depleted?, Crimson Midnight Cloak

“Though I know I’m weak, this whole series of ‘novice’ level stuff is still a bit much to take.”

Murphy looked at his comprehensive data and covered his eyes, unable to bear looking at it any longer.

Although he knew performing various corresponding actions could increase his skill proficiency, he had still tried for a month, so how could this character sheet be so underwhelming?

Could the rumor that even children in the city knew be true?

That because “Queen of Waste” Lady Tris herself was useless, any vampire she initially turned, no matter how powerful before, would become a waste after the transformation?

Hmm, it probably wasn’t that mystical.

Moreover, he had waited a whole month, so how could this be all there was to it?

Just expanding the character card?

Where was the promised cheat ability to change his fate? With such a gloomy story opening, not giving him an ability like summoning a dragon or summoning a titan was a bit hard to accept!

Just as Murphy was scratching his head pondering this “admin system” that sounded powerful, he noticed a separate section below the character card.

?Newbie Guide Quest (1/6): Complete Initial Summon, Begin Test Program.

Quest Description: Heh, don’t make that face, I know what you’re thinking. Unleash your summoning ability and grasp true power. Afterwards, you’ll know that I’ve given you the best, Alpha.?

“So cryptic, my name is Murphy, what the heck is Alpha?”

Murphy frowned as he finished reading the quest description, glancing at the “Summoning Specialty” on his character card. The ?0/2? indicator showed he could summon two “otherworld creatures”.

“Well then, let your lord take a look at what sort of medicine you’re selling in this broken gourd!”

The ill-fated vampire gripped the hilt of the cage sword with his left hand and extended his right hand elegantly in a casting motion.

He didn’t know what he would summon, but even if a raging dark titan burst out roaring in the next second to cut down this world with one sword stroke, it didn’t matter.

On the contrary, he would think that was really cool and would be ready to gluttonously devour its ashes after the world burned.

After all, given how miserable his situation was now, he relied entirely on this thing to reverse his fate and really couldn’t consider anything else. And had this city been good to him?

Why should he care so much for those people who still spewed malice at him even when he smiled at them?

He didn’t owe them anything, right?

Skill activated.

Murphy felt like he was being ground up, squeezing out what little spirit power remained within him. When he felt about a quarter of his dark spirit power had been extracted, two flickering points of light finally took shape.

It was like the most exquisite tailor using threads of spirit power to weave distinct outlines from nothing. Under Murphy’s expectant gaze, a tall and a short human figure appeared before him.

Ordinary builds, ordinary faces, ordinary life auras – even a waste vampire like Murphy could probably beat several of them.

What’s this?

They’re just ordinary humans?

What use is this?

In that instant, the vampire’s disdain for these cheat abilities reached its peak. But just as he was about to routinely complain, a very familiar language rang out in his ears.

So vivid that even the vampire felt a chill.

“Damn, these graphics are dope! Look at those lighting effects, look at those details, look at those bricks! Damn, those floor tiles are realistic as fuck! But the application said this ?Reality Realm? is still in development? Looks finished to me.”

“Shh, shut up! Look, that NPC is staring right at us. Yo, nice modeling on that pale-faced guy, pretty handsome. Say, why can’t I make my face look like that?

Hey!

This game actually lets you take your pants off!”

“F**k! Don’t take off your pants!”

“Huh? Did that NPC just swear? I didn’t mishear that, right? He definitely said ‘F**k’, didn’t he? Even the localized translation is this down-to-earth? I love it.”